Pesticides Threaten Health and Environment in the Pacific
November 15, 1993
Pesticide contamination threatens human health and the
extremely vulnerable ecosystems of the South Pacific,
according to a new report by Meriel Watts of Greenpeace's
Pacific Campaign. The report, "Poisons in Paradise:
Pesticides in the Pacific," was recently released by
Greenpeace, in collaboration with PAN Asia and the Pacific
(PAN AP). It provides previously inaccessible information
regarding the effects of pesticides in the Pacific to policy
makers and the public.
The report finds that fifty-seven pesticides that are banned
or not registered in other countries are widely available in
the twenty two South Pacific Commission nations, including
many of the pesticides targeted by the Pesticide Action
Network's (PAN's) "Dirty Dozen" campaign. Use of these and
other pesticides adversely effects human health and the
environment in a variety of ways.
Pesticide use and runoff destroy the fragile coral reefs,
mangrove swamps, and seagrass beds which provide habitats for
fish and help control coastline erosion. Recent groundwater
analysis revealed residues of paraquat, lindane, and 2,4-D in
Guam groundwater, and traces of the DDT metabolite, DDE, in
Tonga groundwater.
The small island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to
environmental hazards, including pesticide contamination,
because of limited arable land and water supplies. The
environmental conditions on the Pacific islands are markedly
different from the conditions on large land masses, thus
rendering outside environmental abuse studies largely
inapplicable. The islands' greater susceptibility to
contamination, coupled with the lack of regional
environmental monitoring, has had severe consequences for the
ecology and the people.
The report finds that the incidence of human pesticide
poisoning is much higher in the Pacific region than in
Australia and New Zealand, despite these countries' larger
populations and greater use of agrochemicals. From 1970-
1984, the total number of recorded deaths from pesticides was
45 in Papua New Guinea, and 210 in Western Samoa, compared to
15 deaths in Australia from 1971-1980.
Although very few written records exist of pesticide
poisonings in the South Pacific, personal accounts of
contamination are widespread. Incidents of non-occupational
poisonings include the case of a man in Papua New Guinea who
was forced to dismantle and relocate his house when his
family became ill after drinking stream water believed to be
polluted by pesticides. Occupational poisonings result
primarily from improper protective clothing and poor
application techniques. In Papua New Guinea, for example,
one sprayman carrying a defective knapsack was poisoned when
highly concentrated paraquat leaked down his back.
In response to the health and environmental problems in the
South Pacific, Greenpeace recommends public education
campaigns on the hazards of pesticides and education of
doctors and health workers in the recognition and treatment
of poisonings. Greenpeace urges governments to withdraw
registration of pesticides with inadequate data for
determining the ecological effects, to adopt phase-out
programs, and to create systems of sustainable agriculture.
Greenpeace also advises South Pacific nations to implement
the "Precautionary Principle," which states that the most
effective method to end human and environmental pesticide
contamination is to avoid using these dangerous chemicals.
Source: Meriel Watts, "Poisons in Paradise: Pesticides in the
Pacific," Greenpeace Pacific Campaign, PAN AP, October 1993.
Contacts: Pesticide Action Network Asia & the Pacific, PO Box
1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia; phone (60-4) 870-271; fax (60-
4) 877-455; e-mail peg:panap. Greenpeace Pacific Campaign, 22
York Street, Parnell, PO Box 90257, Wellesley Street,
Auckland, New Zealand; phone (64-9) 337-76128; fax (64-9)
303-2676.
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